Plagg and the Princess
by RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley
Summary: When Plagg and Adrien have a massive fight, Plagg decides to leave. However through a series of misfortune events Plagg ends up in the care of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Now Adrien is worried...is Plagg going to replace him with Marinette?
1. Chapter 1

It started on a typical day.

Which meant Plagg was forced awake by the horrid blaring sound of Adrien's alarm clock and pushed out of his warm, cosy, bed as Adrien staggered into the bathroom. As usual Plagg revived himself with a good piece of creamy, heavenly, cheese that was his camembert as he watched Adrien brush his teeth sleepily. Plagg then got to stretch out and relax as Adrien dressed to his usual boring perfection.

Adrien flumped back into the bed and was just about to put on his shoes when -

 _Squelch!_

"WHAT THE HELL, PLAGG?!" Adrien exploded as he yanked his shoe off. Plagg felt like the little brat had wrenched his heart out as he witnessed his delicious gooey cheese not only get squashed and trod on by Adrien's smelly foot but was now pulled apart as it was simultaneously stuck on Adrien's sock and dribbling out of Adrien's sneaker. "Why the hell is your cheese in my shoes…. _ **AGAIN**_?!"

"I was letting it _breathe_! It makes it taste better!" Plagg exclaimed indignantly. "And you _destroyed_ it! _You ruined my breakfast_!"

"Never mind your bloody breakfast!" Adrien snarled. "What about _my socks and my shoes_?! You _ruined_ them! How am I going to explain this to Nathalie and the maid in charge of laundry?"

"Who cares about your stupid _clothes_?!" Plagg snapped back. "You have _hundreds_ of the damn things in your closet. My cheese however was a one of the kind beauty and you _murdered_ it! I will never get to taste its creamy deliciousness!"

"Oh for God's sake!" Adrien said irritably. "It's just _cheese_ and not very nice cheese at that!"

" _Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!_ " Plagg gasped out melodramatically as the most offended look flickered across his face. "You take that back, _blasphemer_!"

"No way," Adrien crossed his arms defiantly, "I've had months of this and enough is enough! Camembert is nothing but the most disgusting and stinkiest of cheese!"

"How dare you defile the heaven that is my precious camembert with your dirty words?!" Plagg hissed furiously. His fur stood on end at such offence and his eyes flashed dangerously. "It's like insulting someone's mother! In fact it's _worse_ than that! Camembert is superior to any mother. It would never nag you!"

Adrien's eyes flashed at that one as an ugly scowl crossed his face. " _Are you insulting my mother?_!" he yelled.

"Don't be stupid," Plagg snorted, "I just said that insulting camembert is worse than insulting your mother."

"IT'S JUST CHEESE!"

" _Heretic_!" Plagg gasped. "I can't live with a person who will never appreciate the creamy miracle that is camembert!"

" _Yeah_?!" Adrien retorted. "Well I can't live with an inconsiderate brat that leaves his stupid cheese in people's shoes!"

"Well then!" Plagg huffed haughtily. "Maybe I should just leave!"

" _Maybe you should_!"

Plagg was all prepared to say something supremely nasty when there was a tap on the door. "Adrien?" Nathalie called out from the other side. "Are you in there? I hear voices."

"Y-y-y-yeah!" Adrien stammered. "I was, erm, just watching some TV!"

Plagg snorted at the pathetic-ness of Adrien's excuse.

"Well _don't!_ " Nathalie said disapprovingly. "You have school shortly and I still need to brief you on your schedule for the day."

"Just a minute!" Adrien squeaked and Plagg snickered as he watched his charge stumble across his bedroom (tripping over his school bag) and into his closet as he hurriedly changed his socks and shoes. Adrien shot him a particularly malevolent glare (which from him was a look that suggested he was just severely constipated) before he pointed held the flap on his bag open. "You coming?" he said shortly.

"I don't think so," Plagg said snottily, "do you?"

" _Fine_!" Adrien huffed. "I could do with a day's peace without your snoring or complaining or waxing ridiculous poetry about cheese."

"And I," Plagg sneered back, "could do with an eternity of peace without having to hear another word of your so called love for _Ladybug._ "

The snarky comment hit its mark with the desired effect as the most indignant offended expression appeared on Adrien's face before he sulkily stormed out of his bedroom and slammed the door shut leaving Plagg well and truly behind.

Plagg was horribly offended that Adrien hadn't begged and pleaded him to come to school with him like he was _supposed_ to!

"The little brat!" he growled. "Does he really think he can last a day without me holding his hand? _Ha_! As soon as an Akuma attacks the Kid is _screwed_!"

It then occurred to Plagg that Adrien was trying to taunt him and he decided to wait the brat out as he made himself comfortable on Adrien's pillow. A minute ticked by excruciatingly, and then another, and then another, and then another five, and then suddenly Plagg heard the engine of the Agreste limo roar to life.

"HE'S LEFT ME BEHIND!" Plagg bellowed indignantly. " _That little shit_! Well _fine_!" Plagg huffed sulkily as he zoomed to the desk drawer where most of his camembert collection lived. "If the Kid thinks he can live without me then I'll give him just that. A life _without_ me! I'll go somewhere where I'm better appreciated and cheese is feasted upon every day!"

Plagg stole one of Adrien's socks and stuffed it full with his camembert. He hauled the bulging sock over his shoulder as if he was Father Christmas and then zipped over to the window before he phased right through it.

 _Freedom at last!_

No more moping from sulky teenagers, no more restricted free time and stupid diets, no more boring classes, no more lovesick wittering's about Tiki's chosen one. Plagg was finally free at last from it all! He was going to savour _every second_ of it.

Plagg enjoyed his liberation for the total of three seconds before his day suddenly plummeted downhill fast.

 _It was that evil bird's fault!_

Plagg called him the Flying Rat. The damn evil overstuffed pigeon likes to sit in the tree opposite Adrien's bedroom. It cooed loudly at the crack of dawn every single morning and it always gazed at Plagg through the bedroom window with his beady little eyes.

Gazed at Plagg _hungrily_.

Adrien always said that Plagg was imagining it and then he would laugh and tease Plagg about him, a _cat_ , being scared of a _bird._ But the Flying Rat wasn't just a bird. He was a massive evil bastard and Plagg was a tiny cat who was at his strongest when he was merged with Adrien.

 _Goddamnit!_

" _Coo_!" the Flying Rat cooed maliciously to the point it sounded like a clichéd villain's evil laugh. " _Coo_!"

And then the monster flapped his wings and lunged for Plagg. " _Crap_!" Plagg cursed as he swiftly dodged the Flying Rat's attack.

He dived down and hastily swerved to the right barely missing the Flying Rat's sharp beak at his ankle. Plagg shot back up when he suddenly felt lighter. He whirled round in time to see that the Flying Rat had cut through Adrien's sock with his damn beak and now all of Plagg's precious camembert was scattered across the neat lawn of the Agreste Estate.

"MY BABIES!" Plagg screamed, horrified. " _You nasty evil little_ – **ARGH**!" Plagg's rant was abruptly cut off as the Flying Rat went for him again.

Plagg zoomed towards the tree and swiftly zipped through all the branches and the Flying Rat chased after him. This, however, was where Plagg had the advantage with his size. He was able to duck and weave and bob around even the tiniest branches dancing just mere centimetres out of reach of the Flying Rat.

"Ha, ha!" Plagg cried out triumphantly, "Can't get me no-"

 **BAM!**

Plagg groaned painfully against the bark of the tree as he slowly slid against it. " _Bugge_ r!" Plagg muttered as he flopped down onto the cold, grimy, grey paved street of Paris.

He moaned against the pavement as he tried to sit up but he was suddenly surrounded by people and promptly stiffened into a typical toy pose before someone noticed him.

He couldn't have his cover blown within five minutes of escape not only would he be lectured to a death of boredom by Adrien but Tiki, Wayzz, and Master Fu would ensure his afterlife would consist of nothing but lectures.

 _Boring old farts!_

Plagg laid there (im) patiently for enough people to vanish so he could fly back up to safety….well okay, safety wasn't the correct term with the Flying Rat hovering nearby like a pigeon version of Hawk Moth, but at least he could actually move and not lay here on the cold floor like an idiot.

"Mummy, Mummy!" a little whiney voice called out. "Look a kitty cat! A kitty cat!"

Plagg inwardly groaned when a child no older than four suddenly lifted him off the ground with their filthy, grubby, hands.

His beautiful soft silky fur _, ruined_! By sticky, jammy, fingers of a little kid.

The child beamed a big smile down at him. It was, Plagg thinks, a little girl with great big front teeth that made her look like a rabbit, and messy hair pulled back by a hideous pink fluffy scrunchie. "He's so _cute_!" the little girl cooed annoyingly as she suddenly smothered Plagg against her chest. "He's my new best friend! We're going to play games and eat cookies and draw pictures and cuddle forever and forever!"

"That's nice dear," her mother replied tiredly, "come along now. We don't want to be late for the park."

" _Ah!_ " the little girl gasped excitedly. "The _park!_ Isn't that fun, kitty cat? We can play on the swings and the slide and the roundabout and-!"

 _Oh dear God, kill me now!_

Plagg inwardly screamed as the little girl's hold on him became suffocating. She held on so tight that he was pretty sure she broke a bone before they finally made it to the park. Plagg spent the next excruciatingly long two hours trying to escape the little pink demon as she squeezed him tight in one fist as they flew down the slide, as he almost vomited from the swinging motion of the swings, and when he had to endure freaking cookies being pushed against his mouth.

 _ **COOKIES!**_

The very indignation of having Tiki's favourite food against his lips while his creamy camembert was probably being pecked away by the Flying Rat and his fellow evil minions.

Plagg had to endure all of this and more all while, the very worst of it all, maintaining the biggest, fakest, smile that ached more and more every second he wore it.

He was fairly certain he was in hell now.

Then after all of that the little demon (who kept a tight grip on one of his paws, definitely bruising something) raced across the playground towards the roundabout. Before Plagg knew it he was going round and round and round at ridiculous breakneck speed as he grew dizzier and dizzier. The little demon's face became blurred until all Plagg could see was pink as he flopped uselessly in the air (the little demon was only holding onto his paws as she pinned him to the cold metal railings of the roundabout). Plagg was just about to patience and shout something abusive when suddenly –

 _Swoosh!_

 **BAM!**

Plagg suddenly shot out of the little demon's grip and flew backwards into the air before collided, stomach first, into a nearby tree.

" _Urgh!_ " Plagg groaned pitifully as he slowly slid against the bark. "This," he muttered darkly, "is not my day."

He then, thankfully, blacked out at this point.

When he finally stirred awake it was because a great, big, fat raindrop splattered across his face. He shot up to see the sky had turned a dark, stormy, grey, and the park was thankfully abandoned as all the silly humans sought out shelter in fear of some water.

Though strictly speaking Plagg wasn't a fan of water either and he too would like somewhere nice and warm to hide out the oncoming storm.

The park was not going to provide that.

His stomach growled furiously and Plagg was instantly reminded that it had been hours since had even the tiniest nibble of cheese. He was now exhausted, cold, sore, miserable, and, most importantly, _starving_!

He was even started to actually _miss_ Adrien a bit.

He might be a whiny lovesick moron but he was Plagg's whiny lovesick moron who provided delicious cheeses and warm, soft, pillows, and gentle, comforting, scratches behind the ear.

Plagg wanted to _go home_!

Determined to go back (preferably before Adrien did so he could act all nonchalant and cool and like he didn't miss the Kid) Plagg struggled to get up into the air and slowly, stealthily, flew back into the streets of Paris.

Unfortunately this was where he met his next snag.

Plagg hadn't needed to fly through the streets at all since he had been awakened. He had always stuck by Adrien's side and that always meant luxurious limo rides even just to school and back. Plagg has not once seen twenty first century Paris from a bird's eye view and the whole thing was totally disorientating.

He felt like he had been flying for an _eternity_ which did nothing to help with his exhaustion. He felt _drained_. As in hadn't eaten cheese for days while simultaneously letting Adrien do five cataclysms in a row drained. Which was when he inconveniently remembered there was a reason his essence was tied to a damn silver ring on Adrien's finger.

This coupled with his injuries, his lack of cheese, his general tiredness, and his misery slowed him down incredibly.

 _Really_ slowed him down.

As in he was pretty sure a snail could move faster than he was because he was really beginning to feel weak and so tired and, God, he was so _hungry_!

Black spots appeared across Plagg's view of the world and suddenly he felt limp as the world felt like it was falling beneath him. He was falling, and falling, and falling, and -

 _Flump!_

Plagg stirred as he felt himself being encased by something soft and silky. The scent of cookies was almost overwhelming and made his nose twitch irritably. " _Tiki_ ….?" He moaned groggily.

He opened his eyes to meet the familiar big, blue, concerned eyes of Tiki's chosen one….

….without the mask.

(He wasn't as thick as Adrien he would recognise her anywhere.)


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette's day had been at its usual low-level of unlucky so far.

She had overslept (again) and only managed to just get into class before the bell rang. She was, of course, a panting mess right in front of Adrien and before she could compose herself, or rather hide so he didn't see her flushed, sweaty, face, she immediately tripped over the stair to her desk. All of her classes seemed harder than usual and she had been tripped up by Chloe no less than three times in between all of them. Her day ended with an extremely long student council meeting where the argument about the school trip seemed never-ending.

And now it was raining, _hard_ , and she had no raincoat or umbrella for protection.

Just typical.

Marinette dashed through the streets as quickly as she could without sending herself flying onto the ground all over again when she saw it.

A tiny black thing falling out of the sky.

She reacted instinctively, her superhero reflexes kicking in, as she rushed forwards to catch the injured animal. She stumbled in her attempt and as a surprisingly heavy weight thudded into her hands she fell onto one knee. The cold rain water seeped through her jeans and soaked her knee but she barely acknowledged it as her eyes widened at the sight of what was in her hands.

It was the cutest, smallest, black cat she had ever seen.

She could almost squeal in delight.

 _It was a cat!_ One of her favourite animals ever (don't tell Chat Noir), and it was the size of a _hamste_ r! One of her other favourite animals ever!

Then common sense kicked in _. it was a cat and it was the size of a hamster_! This little cat was just the right size to be a Kwami and it looked like a black cat. This could be _Chat Noir's Kwami_! Which begged the question what had happened to _Chat Noir_?! Had he been attacked and his Kwami barely escaped? Had there been an accident? Were they ill and the boy behind the mask was passed out somewhere as his Kwami sought out aid?

Worry and concern for her partner gnawed at her stomach.

The little cat stirred in her hands. " _Tiki_ …?" he moaned groggily.

His eyes opened slowly to reveal a gorgeous neon green that was eerily reminiscent to Chat Noir's own beautiful eyes. This confirmed her suspicions without a doubt that this was Chat Noir's Kwami which did nothing to ease her worry.

"Oh," Chat's Kwami said almost dismissively, "it's _you_!"

And then, before she could come up with any sort of coherent reply indignant or otherwise, Chat's Kwami's eyes immediately rolled back into his head as he promptly passed out again in her hands.

Without a second thought Marinette clutched him close to her chest as she used her jacket to shield him from the worst of the rain. She resumed running as she rushed back home. The sooner she got to the safety of her bedroom the sooner she could consult Tiki on the best course of action. She burst through the bakery's shop door, belted out a quick hello to her parents, and raced up the stairs until she was finally in her room.

There she struggled to catch her breath as she placed the Kwami onto her pillow where he could be safe and snug. " _Tiki!_ " she wheezed as she fumbled for her bag's clasps. "Tiki, what do I do?"

Tiki floated out serenely when her face suddenly contorted with exasperation at the sight of Chat's Kwami. "Oh _Plagg_!" she rolled her eyes again. "Not _again!_ "

"Is he sick you think?!" Marinette nibbled her lip nervously. "Should we take him to Master Fu to get him healed?"

" _Certainly not_!" Tiki said briskly. "Plagg is merely suffering from being away from his Miraculous Stone for too long which his own fault because he ran away. _Again_!"

"Wait, _what_?!" Marinette yelped "Why would he run away? And what do you mean _again_?!"

"Plagg runs away from his Miraculous Holder at least once each and every time," Tiki rolled her eyes, "he's a Drama King like that. There is always _something_ that offended him and each and every time it's something ridiculously _petty_. He just needs to recharge and get back to his Holder as soon as possible and then he'll be fine."

"So Chat Noir is all right?" Marinette asked. "They haven't been attacked or anything?"

"Chat Noir is safe and sound," Tiki reassured her, "probably worried over this selfish lug but safe and sound."

" _Good_!" Marinette breathed out a sigh of relief. "So, erm, recharging Plagg…." She said hesitatingly, "what does he eat again?"

"He would insist on the finest camembert," Tiki said exasperatedly, "but really any cheese will do."

Marinette nodded and rushed back down to the kitchen. It was, thankfully, empty and she had the chance to fully raid the fridge without being questioned. She found five different cheeses that her parents used for various different dishes and as she dithered over which one to use (because none of them were camembert and while Tiki said any would do perhaps the strength of cheese was key to revitalising Plagg?) an idea popped into her head.

Soup was the common remedy for those that were ill and while she had no idea how to make a cheese soup of all things she did know how to make a really strong, thick, cheese sauce that would undoubtedly revive Plagg by just wafting it under his nose.

Determined to do this and without being caught, Marinette hastily began to cook. It took quite a bit of time as it took an age to stir out the floury lumps but she succeeded in pouring out a mug of thick, strong, cheesy sauce when her mother entered the kitchen.

"Marinette?" she questioned bewilderedly. "What are you doing?"

"Oh!" Marinette jumped as she hastily covered the top of her mug with her hand. "I was just, erm, making dinner for everyone. Yeah!" she nodded quickly. Pleased that she had made enough sauce to make her lie look convincing. "I was making dinner!"

"Oh sweetheart, you are a good girl," her mother smiled radiantly as she leaned in to kiss Marinette's cheek and Marinette tried to push that bubble of guilt that swelled up in her stomach each and every time she lied. "Marinette!" her mother cried out exasperatedly. "You're soaked through!"

Marinette smiled sheepishly. She was so focused on Plagg that she had forgotten that she had just come in from the rain. Her clothes still stuck to her skin from the water. "I wanted to get dinner done first," she said weakly.

"Well go and get change before you catch a cold!" her mother ordered sternly. "I'll finish dinner."

"Thank you Mum," Marinette said quickly as she pecked her mother's cheek before she hurried out of the kitchen. She took care to not spill a single drop of the cheese sauce as she struggled up her ladder. Soon enough she got to the side of her bed and was on her knees at Plagg's bedside. "Plagg!" she whispered loudly. " _Plagg_!" she repeated. The black cat opened an eye lazily as he shot her a haughty look. "Here!" she pressed the mug against the little cat's lips. "It'll make you feel better."

Plagg took a tentative tiny sip of her cheese sauce before he moaned in delight and took a bigger, longer, sip. " _Oh_! You _angel!_ " he said reverently. "It's no wonder the Kid thinks the sun shines out of your-"

" _Plagg_!" Tiki cried out, scandalised.

" _What_?" Plagg retorted. "It was a _compliment_."

Marinette flushed while Tiki simply shot a disapproving stare down at Plagg. There was a moment of silence with the only sound in the room was the loud, audible, gulps Plagg made as he guzzled the cheese sauce down like a man dying of thirst.

" _Ah_!" he sighed blissfully when he finally lowered the mug to reveal his new cheesy white beard. "That was heaven in a cup, is there anymore?" he asked, his eyes huge with hope that it made Marinette's heart clench at the adorableness of it all.

"Sorry, no," she said regretfully, "but I'll try to sneak you some leftover cheese Danishes from the bakery if you like."

"Princess," Plagg grinned, "like would be an _understatement_ to how I feel about leftover cheese Danishes"

Marinette couldn't help but smile back.

He was an incorrigible little soul but that was definitely part of his charm. Marinette found herself liking Plagg very much. She had a feeling she'll miss him once he's back with Chat Noir.

Which begged the question of exactly _how_ Marinette was going to return Plagg to Chat Noir.

But before she could vocalise this question her mother called out for her and Marinette squeaked as she remembered she was supposed to change clothes. She hastily grabbed her pyjamas and was about to strip off her jacket when she remembered there was a _male_ in her room.

She shyly glanced over to Plagg who rolled his eyes back at her. " _Please_ ," he drawled out, "it's nothing I'd be interested in looking at."

Marinette spluttered, unsure whether or not she should be insulted, but before she could say something Tiki swooped in to her defence. "Oh Plagg," she said sweetly, "you have a little something on your face."

"I know," Plagg shrugged, "I'm saving it for later."

Marinette laughed at that as her shyness evaporated completely. Without hesitation she changed her clothes, mumbled a 'be right back' to the bickering Kwamis, and rushed down to dinner.

To which she discovered her five cheese sauce was not well received by her parents judging by the constipated expressions on their faces.

(And she didn't blame them it was overpoweringly strong. She almost gagged when she took a bite of her dinner as well. Plagg's love of cheese was truly stronger than any taste bud.)

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

As soon as he had left home Adrien had felt wrong being without Plagg.

He felt like was totally _naked_ to the world. That he was vulnerable to attack and open to any disaster, and it totally made him paranoid as hell. He spent the whole day fearing that there'll be an Akuma attack and he would be totally useless because he didn't have Plagg to help him transform.

He also just plain missed Plagg.

They didn't always talk, Lord knows, Plagg spent more time sleeping than actually interacting with Adrien, but there was something comforting about knowing you had a friend in your bag whenever you needed him.

Adrien's bag had been empty of a friend all day and it made him _miserable_!

He decided right there and then in the middle of lunch when he didn't have Plagg muttering insufferable comments about his friends or his food or just about anything, that he would buy the biggest wheel of camembert he could get his hands on and grovel for forgiveness. This, of course, meant that his day, with his usual classes, his fencing practise, and the Mandarin lesson, followed by a fitting for a shoot next week, all seemed to never end as time dragged out painfully.

But eventually he finally made it past the front doors of his on home and without a second thought Adrien raced up the stairs to his bedroom.

" _Plagg!_ " he cried out as he slammed the bedroom door open. "I got you…."

He trailed off helplessly as he took in the dark, empty, lonely bedroom.

"Plagg?" he called out weakly.

There was no reply and Adrien tried his hardest to not tremble at the implications. He still had the ring, he had to remind himself. Plagg couldn't leave that behind. _Plagg must be hiding_ , he tried to reassure himself, _to pay me back for leaving him behind_. So with a deep breath Adrien began to search his room. He looked under his bed, behind the sofa, through the cracks of his bookcase, in all of his drawers, in his closet, in every shoe, and thorough check of every nook and cranny of the bathroom.

He found nothing.

" _Plagg_?!" he called out much louder. "Plagg!" he snapped. "This isn't funny! I played your game, you had your laugh, now come out and show yourself before I dump your whole cheese supply out of the window."

Nothing.

Utterly nothing.

There was no snarky comment, no cackle of laughter, no whinging about cheese, no huffy retort….just nothing.

Adrien was alone.

He had been _abandoned_.

Again.

He was unable to suppress it this time round. Adrien was completely and utterly trembling as he reached his bed and curled up as he held his pillow to his chest. He could just barely get a whiff of stale cheese that was left from his Kwami.

"Plagg," he mumbled miserably, "why did you have to leave me too?"

He was so, painfully, alone….

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Plagg had a lot of feelings about his new situation currently but the dominating one was definitely smugness.

He was perched on the comfiest, fluffiest, sweetest smelling cushion in the world (he was so exhausted that he could forgive it for being the same monstrous colour at the little demon) as Marinette scratched that sweet spot right behind his ear all while Tiki was scowling at him furiously.

Heh.

As soon as Marinette had left to have dinner with her parents earlier Tiki had really laid into him. He tried to put her off with his most disarming smile as he nodded towards the hatch Marinette left through.

"She's got to be the sweetest of your bugs," he said pleasantly.

Compliments to her chosen ones always won Tiki over in the past and for a moment he tasted victory as she smiled sweetly back. "Yes, she is the sweetest one yet," Tiki agreed softly, and for a moment Plagg thought he got away from a telling off when Tiki's smile suddenly slid right off into a terrifying scowl. "Of all the irresponsible, idiotic, _reckless_ things to do!" she hissed. "You run away from your chosen! Have you not learned _anything_ from the last dozen times?!"

"Oh _come on_ , Tik!" Plagg whined. "You had no idea how annoying that Kid is!"

"Probably not," Tiki glowered, "but I know how annoying _you_ _are_! Go home before you cause another disaster. One Great Fire of London was enough!"

"But we're not in London!" Plagg argued. "And I can't go home. Not by myself. I'm _lost_!"

Tiki snorted derisively at that. "Sure you are," she said disbelievingly, "and I'm the Spider Miraculous."

"Well," Plagg said slyly, "I always did think you were a bit on the hairy side."

Tiki gasped, offended. " _You could talk hairball_!" she retorted and Plagg cackled delightedly in return. He adored getting Tiki all het up, it was hilarious to see her less than perfectly sweet.

"I think you're just jealous," Plagg teased, "because your little bug obviously prefers _me_ over _you._ They always do."

" _They do not_!" Tiki shrieked. "And Marinette doesn't either, and I am not jealous! I am scolding you because you-"

Before Tiki could give him another lecture on being responsible and boring though Plagg turned his attention back to Marinette's room. He physically blanched when he realised he was surrounded by the face of Adrien Agreste. There were pictures of him smiling, of him posing ridiculously, of him pouting into the camera like some overgrown toddler. Each and every one of them was a shoot that Plagg vaguely remembered being bored to death by and they were stuck on virtually every surface of his safe haven.

Even his schedule was hanging from the ceiling in one corner.

Jeeze, he just couldn't escape that Kid, could he?

"Holy mozzarella!" he muttered. "Tiki I think your girl might have an obsession for my Kid."

" _See_!" Tiki said smugly. "I told you that you weren't the only one that gets the lovesick ones."

"Yeah," Plagg said numbly, "I never believed you till now. How the hell do you _cope_? They're all so annoying with their icky feelings and silly words and sheer stupidity."

"You deal with it with great patience," Tiki said self-righteously, "something you could learn to use. _How dare you abandon your holder_?!"

" _He left me behind_!"

"I'm sure you deserved it!" Tiki said huffily. "You probably said something heartless and cruel."

" _He murdered my camembert_!"

" _Oh for_ -!" Tiki spluttered as she cut herself off furiously. "It's _just_ cheese, Plagg!"

" _Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_!" Plagg gasped out melodramatically as he clutched his chest. "My other half! The light to my dark! The fortune to my misfortune! How could she ever be so _heartless_?!"

"Oh ha, ha," Tiki scowled, "your witticisms never fail to amaze me."

"I know, right?" Plagg grinned cheekily in the face of Tiki's sarcasm. "You can't tell me that you didn't miss me, Tik," he said arrogantly, "I missed you," he added much more sincerely.

Tiki's face softened at that (like it always did when Plagg said something like that). "I missed you too," she admitted. "But Plagg, you can't-"

"Cheese Danishes!" Marinette cried out as she suddenly burst back into her bedroom. "And cookies for you too, Tiki!" she added reassuringly as she waved two separate paper bags with her parents' bakery brand printed on. "….huh," she blinked bewilderedly before she kept turning her head rapidly to gaze nervously at both Tiki and Plagg. "Have I interrupted something?"

"No!" Plagg said quickly.

" _Yes_!" Tiki hissed forcefully.

"It was nothing important," Plagg said hurriedly as he rushed to Marinette's side, "nothing for you to worry about, Princess."

"It is _something_ important!" Tiki said determinedly as she joined on Marinette's other side, "and it is something for you to worry about if we don't return Plagg to his rightful place soon."

" _Urgh_!" Plagg groaned. "You're such a _spoilsport_ Tiki! Let me have tonight first!"

Tiki opened her mouth to retort but Marinette interrupted her before she even had the chance to speak. "I've been worrying about that too," she said as she passed Plagg his bag of leftover cheese Danishes, "how am I to return you to Chat Noir when I don't know who he is? Are we," she nibbled her lower lip anxiously, "are you going to have to _reveal_ ourselves?"

"Nah," Plagg shrugged dismissively, "you just let me hang my head out of your silly pink bag of yours and my Kid will swipe me before you know it."

"He better," Tiki said sternly, "because you know that revealing their identities is part of-"

"I know, I know! _The identity reveal is part of the spiritual journey of growth_ …blah, blah, blah," Plagg rolled his eyes, "I've heard it all before from Wayzz. I don't need another lecture about it just yet but when I need another nap I'll give you a shout."

Tiki gave him an extremely unimpressed stare at that. "We also have the security risk to worry about," she said coolly, "We don't want to endanger our Holders now, do we?"

"Urgh!" Plagg flopped back onto the cushion he had been sleeping on earlier. " _Whateve_ r!" he then opened up the bag and greedily took a great big bite out of the slightly stale pastry that was filled with delicious cheesy goodness. " _Oh_!" he sighed blissfully. "This is _heaven_!"

And after three more of those pastries this was how Plagg ended up in his heavenly position with Marinette. It lasted a wonderfully long time until Marinette put her tablet down and stretched out and yawned.

"Bedtime," she decided, "Tiki usually sleeps with me," she informed Plagg, "is that all right with you or do you need your own bed?"

Plagg was half tempted to demand his own luxurious bed that he could snuggle in with space to stretch but he had strong feeling that if he stayed where he was it would serve to infuriate Tiki far more.

And there was nothing Plagg loved more than to infuriate Tiki….

"Here's fine, Princess," Plagg stretched out, "you have been more than kind enough to me. I wouldn't want to put you out."

He was rewarded with another derisive snort from Tiki and a sweet, lovely, smile from Marinette.

Heh.

Plagg just realised there was another added bonus of winding Adrien up to no end when he finally got home and he told the Kid about how he slept with Ladybug.

He was totally loving this scenario.

Marinette vanished for a while to do the weird bathroom routine that Adrien also always does (Plagg swears humans were never this invested in their personal hygiene a few centuries ago, why can't they go back to that? It wouldn't kill them) but she came back soon enough before Tiki could give Plagg another really long and annoying lecture about responsibilities and being sensible. Marinette climbed into bed and Plagg happily snuggled up in a spot beside her pillow that smelt strongly of cookies. He had no doubt this was Tiki's favourite spot to sleep.

And a look on her disgruntled face told him he was right.

She muttered some very rude things about him under her breath as well! But Plagg cheerily took it on his chin as he nudged her gently. "Hey," he whispered, " _Relax_! It'll be all sorted in the morning. Until then let's enjoy the night together we haven't been like this in decades and God knows it might be decades again knowing how thick our lot are this time round."

"I suppose," Tiki murmured, "it is nice to snuggle again."

"Good night, Tiki," Marinette mumbled sleepily as she shifted to get comfortable, "Good night, Plagg."

"Good night, Marinette," Tiki replied pleasantly.

Plagg, for a moment, felt a slight jolt of homesickness as he wondered if Adrien had noticed he was gone yet. His Kid always insisted on silly night time rituals like saying good night to each other and it was the first time since Plagg awakened that he didn't have his chosen talk his ear off.

He missed his kid.

"…Night, Marinette," he said eventually, "May your dreams be filled with cheese. I know mine will!"

Marinette giggled at that and Plagg grinned, feeling much lighter, as Tiki tutted beside him. He snuggled in deep on the mattress and revelled in Tiki's presence as well as the deep, soothing, breaths of Marinette. This and the cocoon of warmth that smelt disturbingly like cookies quickly lulled Plagg into a peaceful sleep.

This was probably the best runaway he has ever had to date.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

They concocted a simple plan.

Marinette was going to take Plagg to school, Plagg was going to flop out obviously out of her handbag, and Chat Noir was supposed to notice and pickpocket Plagg before Marinette even realised he was there. This, of course, revealed something startlingly new about her partner that she didn't know before.

"Wait, wait, wait!" she cried out flustered and horrified. "Are you saying Chat and I go to the _same school_ together?!"

" _Duh_!" Plagg rolled his eyes. "How else have you two been able to arrive on the scene so quickly and _together_?"

Marinette spluttered incoherently at that as she tried to not think about all the blonde, green-eyed, boys in her school who could possibly be Chat Noir.

" _Plagg_!" Tiki shrieked.

"I know, I know," Plagg rolled his eyes again in an even more exaggerated manner than before, "secret identities, blah, blah, blah." Marinette was now extremely nervous that she was going to accidentally find out Chat Noir's secret identity and it must have been obvious (perhaps her dry heaving gave it away?) because Plagg softened a touch as he nudged himself against her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Princess," he said, "everything will go smoothly we have Tiki on our side."

" _Hmmph_!" Tiki hummed disapprovingly. "We best hurry up or you'll be late to school Marinette, _again_."

"Heh," Marinette smiled sheepishly, "I suppose you're right." She turned to face Plagg and offered him a happier smile. "I'm glad to have met you, Plagg. I'm going to miss you."

"You know what," Plagg said looking surprised, "I think I'm going to miss you too, Princess. I'm definitely going to miss those fine cheese Danishes for sure."

Marinette shook her head in amusement. She had no doubt that Plagg would miss the cheese pastries more than her. Last night was enough to teach her that Plagg thinks with stomach more than with his brain. "Tell you what," she grinned, "I'll always keep a cheese Danish on me in case you decide to drop by and visit me."

"Oh _Princess_!" Plagg cried out. "Angel, darling bug, sweetest thing, you're wasted on that Agreste boy. Marry me instead!"

Marinette flushed brightly at that but before she could say something (coherently or not) Tiki coughed loudly. " _School_!" she reminded them as sternly as any schoolmarm.

Plagg zoomed in close to Marinette's face and ever so gently rubbed his cheek against hers. "Until the next time," he murmured, "which will hopefully involve camembert tarts."

" _Plagg_!"

Marinette giggled as Tiki chased Plagg into her pink handbag. She hurriedly climbed down the ladder and rushed down the stairs. After pausing to kiss her parents goodbye (and snatch a cheese Danish and some cookies), she made her way to school and tried to keep calm as possible.

She had almost forgotten about the plan by the time she had reached her locker. Right up until someone crashed into her that was. " **EEK!** " she screeched as she fell against her locker door.

" _Oh my God_!" Marinette stiffened when she heard the familiar, warm, beautiful voice of Adrien Agreste. "I am so, so, so sorry, Marinette!" Adrien cried out. "I just, erm, tripped, yeah, tripped on my shoelace. Are you all right? You're not hurt are you?"

"I…you….err…uh….gah!" Marinette stammered out incoherently as Adrien gripped her shoulders tightly and turned her to face him. His gorgeous green eyes bore into her very soul as he carefully examined her face for any injury. "You….ah…..me…. _Mpfl_!"

Adrien gazed at her in deep concern. "Do you have a concussion?!" he asked worriedly.

" _No!_ " Marinette squeaked out. "I'm okay!" she tacked on and, thankfully, that was when the bell rang out for class. "Oh look time for class!" she blurted out. "We don't want to be late!"

And with all the speed she could muster she ran towards her classroom, sank into her chair in relief, and immediately groaned in humiliation as she covered her face.

 _Goddamnit!_

Her embarrassment, however, vanished when she looked into her bag and noticed she was minus one Kwami.

Plagg was now gone.

(And was now hopefully where he should be. If she finds out that he just ran off again she would be very tempted to set Tiki on him.)

She didn't really have time to process this when her teacher instantly started class and her attention had to focus on said teacher if she ever wanted to pass into the next year. It wasn't until she was back home trying to work on her homework much later that she let herself think about Plagg.

"Do you think Plagg is okay?" she asked Tiki anxiously. "You don't think he's out there getting into more trouble do you?"

"He better not be!" Tiki huffed.

Marinette eyed her Kwami curiously. "You've been weirdly short with Plagg the entire time he was here," she observed, "don't you like him?"

" _What_?!" Tiki blinked, startled. "Of course _I like Plagg_ , Marinette!" she cried out. "He's my other half. I couldn't do without him."

Marinette raised a disbelievingly eyebrow at that.

"I _couldn't_!" Tiki insisted. "I was just cross because he abandoned his duties, he probably made that poor boy worried sick, and….and….and he was he was taking all of your attention!" she blurted out quickly. " _There_! I said it, happy now?"

" _Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!_ " Marinette cooed out. " _Tiki!_ There's no need to be jealous," she cupped her huffy Kwami into her hands and held her close to her own cheek. "I liked Plagg very much," she said reassuringly, "but you, Tiki, are always going to be my _favourite_ Kwami."

"Oh Marinette!"

Tiki nuzzled Marinette's cheek softly and the pair spent the rest of the evening enjoying the peace and quiet as they devoured a whole plate of cookies between them.

All was well.


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien actually missed having camembert in his shoe.

How pathetic was _that_?

He actually _missed_ having gooey cheese squished at the bottom of his foot and ruining the cashmere socks he wore. He also missed the constant complaints, and the snarky commentary of his life, and the general presence of the black furry thing that hovered behind him as he brushed his teeth.

Adrien felt painfully lonely all morning.

His misery was so obvious that Nathalie had actually paused in her recitation of his schedule and eyed him in concern. "Is there anything bothering you, Adrien?" she asked quietly.

"Huh?" Adrien blinked. "No, no, I'm all right," he lied terribly as he tried to plaster a fake smile on his face. "Just tired."

"Hmmm…" Nathalie pressed her lips together tightly so they made a thin line across her face. She didn't look as if she believed him at all but, thankfully, she also didn't pursue the subject. "Very well," she said, "be sure to get an early night tonight. You have an early morning shoot tomorrow with…."

Adrien immediately began to tune her out again as he fiddled with his miraculous ring. It was still there so he supposes Plagg will have to come back eventually even if it was just reclaim the ring again. _Or,_ he thought as his stomach twisted uncomfortably, _will I wake up to find it has vanished one day like Plagg has?_

He was also extremely worried about Akuma attacks.

He wasn't going to be able to transform if one happened which would mean he would have to abandon Ladybug to fight alone. What if she got hit because he wasn't there to protect her? What if she thought he left her to never return? What if she _hated him_ for it? He couldn't exactly approach her as Adrien and try to explain what happened when there was a battle going on. She would probably be more inclined to bundle him up in her arms and take him to safety and without his mask and Plagg to boost his confidence he wasn't entirely sure if he would be able to utter a coherent sentence.

" _Psst_!" someone hissed jerking Adrien out of his thoughts. He was startled to realise he was now standing in a corridor at school. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had managed to blank out almost the entirety of his morning routine which as rather alarming when he thought about it. " _Psst_!" someone hissed again. "Kid, over here!"

Adrien's eyes widened at the familiar voice. " _Plagg_?!" he whispered-shouted as his eyes darted round the school corridor trying to hunt down the black furry nuisance of a Kwami. " _Where_ _ **are**_ _you_?!"

" _Over here_!"

Adrien turned slightly and his eyes bulged out completely when he realised that Plagg was half hanging out of Marinette's little pink bag. _Marinette_! An innocent who could have been endangered by Plagg's presence! If Hawk Moth had found out by some slim, horrid, chance then Marinette would have been shredded to pieces by an Akuma. Adrien suddenly felt furious with Plagg for multiple reasons. To make it worse, the smug little shit had the audacity to smirk at him as he gave Adrien a little wave.

He had to get Plagg out of there.

But how was he going to do that without revealing himself and endangering Marinette further? He couldn't just ask for Plagg back. There was a possibility she had no idea what Plagg was and just thought him a cute little stuffed animal but there was an equal possibility that Plagg told her exactly who he was in order to get his paws on some cheese.

Marinette moved to close her locker and Adrien panicked. He couldn't let her get away with Plagg and then get caught out in an Akuma attack.

Without a second thought he threw himself at her.

Unfortunately he was probably a little too enthusiastic in his fake trip as he immediately slammed Marinette up against her locker door.

" **EEK!** "

Adrien flinched slightly from Marinette's scream which, being released directly in his ear, hurt his ears dreadfully but he didn't have time to really contemplate how painful it was for his eardrums as he was suddenly overwhelmed by her sweet fragrance of cookies and flowers and the warmth of her smaller form against his. For a moment, a teeny, tiny, moment, he wondered if this was what it would be like to hold Ladybug.

Then he felt Plagg slip under his shirt and bump against his back before he padded his paws impatiently against Adrien's shoulder.

He was immediately spurred into action. " _Oh my God_!" he yelped as he leaped back a couple steps. Marinette was still right up against the locker as her shoulders tensed up. For a horrifying moment Adrien feared he caused a nosebleed or something. "I am so, so, so sorry, Marinette! I just, erm, tripped, yeah, tripped on my shoelace," he babbled apologetically as he felt his cheeks burn with shame. The lie felt false and heavy on his tongue. He had just hurt one of his dearest friends for his own selfish reasons and to make things worse he had momentarily _enjoyed_ pressing himself up again her. He was an arsehole of the worst degree. "Are you all right? You're not hurt are you?"

He reached out and grabbed her shoulders as gently as possible before he turned her to face him so he could examine the damage he had inflicted on her. Marinette's face was a deep, dusky, pink bordering on red but otherwise there was no physical damage that he could see on her face.

"I…you….err…uh….gah!" Marinette stammered out incoherently. Her eyes were glazed and wouldn't quite meets his as her face turned redder and redder by the second. Adrien immediately feared that he had given her concussion. "You….ah…..me…. _Mpfl_!"

 _Oh dear God! He_ _ **had**_ _given her a concussion!_

"Do you have a concussion?!" he asked fearfully.

" _No!_ " Marinette squeaked out. "I'm okay!" she tacked on. Adrien wasn't so sure. She still looked out of sorts and he wouldn't put it past her lying to him just to make him feel better but before he could press the issue the school bell rang out cutting him off completely. "Oh look time for class!" she blurted out. "We don't want to be late!"

And with all the speed she could muster she ran towards her classroom leaving Adrien to quite literally eat her dust.

"Shouldn't you be going to?" Plagg's silky voice murmured in his ear as Adrien coughed to clear his throat. "We can't have Mr Perfect be late now, can we?"

"Don't think you're getting out of a scolding of a lifetime," Adrien scowled, "I will be talking to you after class."

"Whatever!"

And then much to Adrien's indignation Plagg started to _snore!_ He wasn't sure if it was faked or not - it was certainly too soon for Plagg to sleep but on the other hand it didn't sound fake - but the sheer nerve of falling asleep in the face of Adrien's anger, fake or not, was _infuriating_. Adrien spluttered furiously as he headed to class.

He couldn't remember what class had been about because he was too cross with Plagg, and upset with Plagg, and ashamed he might have hurt Marinette which only served to make him even more cross and upset with Plagg, to actually focus on the teacher. As soon as the bell went he legged it for the bathroom and once he safely slammed to stall door shut, he yanked Plagg out from beneath his shirt.

" _What the hell were you doing with Marinette_?!"

"Well _hello_ to you too," Plagg drawled out sarcastically, "I'm doing _great_ by the way, thanks for _asking,_ and, yes, I _totally_ missed you too."

Adrien gritted his teeth at that. "It's no laughing matter, Plagg!" he snarled. "Do you have any idea how _**worried**_ I've been?!"

For a moment Plagg looked regretful but then he blinked and it went away. " _Well_!" Plagg huffed haughtily. "That's your own fault for leaving me behind! What was I to do? Sit around and twiddle my thumbs?"

" **Yes**!" Adrien hissed.

"Not gonna happen, Kid," Plagg snorted. "Look," he added a tad more gently, "if it makes you feel any better I instantly got into a lot of trouble without you and it was _your_ precious Princess that saved my tail."

It didn't make Adrien feel any better whatsoever. In fact it made his stomach twist uncomfortably as he imagined Hawk Moth's evil butterflies chasing Plagg throughout the city, and also there was the fact that Marinette had been dragged into this.

" _Tell me_ ," he grounded out, "that you didn't actually _speak_ to Marinette."

"Don't be stupid, Kid," Plagg rolled his eyes. Adrien sighed as he relaxed at that. Marinette was clueless to who she had been harbouring. She was safe. "Of course I spoke to Marinette!" And immediately Adrien tensed up again. "How else was I going to get her to take me to school so I could come back to you?"

Adrien wanted to scream all sorts of abuse at Plagg at this point but he could hear a couple other boys walk into the bathroom and it would certainly be awkward to try and explain why he was yelling at a little black cat.

" _Are you insane_?!" he whispered furiously instead. "You _exposed_ yourself to Marinette?"

"Yeah," Plagg shrugged, "so what?"

"Tell me, _tell me_ ," Adrien pleaded, "that you didn't tell her you were Chat Noir's Kwami."

"Well," Plagg said thoughtfully, "I can tell you I didn't say those _exact_ words…." Adrien could scream. He really could and it must have been apparent to Plagg as the furry bastard had the indecency to smirk at his distress. "I don't see what the big deal is," he said.

"The _big deal_?!" Adrien spluttered as quietly as possible. " _You don't see what the big deal is_?! Plagg you could have _endangered_ us!"

"Are you telling me," Plagg narrowed his eyes at him, "that you don't think the Princess is _trustworthy_?"

Adrien spluttered some more at that. " _I am not saying that_!" he said squeakily. "Do not put words in my mouth! I trust Marinette with my life."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem," Adrien breathed out, "is that you were _gone._ You _left_ me! You left me and then leeched off of my friend while endangering her to an attack from Hawk Moth."

"I think Marinette is capable enough to take care of herself," Plagg said mildly, "she's not the damsel in distress you like to pretend she is. Besides in spite of how dangerous he actually is, Hawk Moth is no more dangerous to Marinette than he is to you. He had no idea I was with her just like he doesn't know I'm with you."

Adrien wanted to shake Plagg so some sense and consideration of others would be knocked back into him.

The dismissive attitude to his concerns and worries, to the actual pain of being abandoned which Adrien was sure Plagg hadn't picked up at all, was infuriating and it didn't change the fact that Marinette knew more than she should, and it could take just one accidental slip to Alya before all of Paris and Hawk Moth knew.

He would not see a single hair on Marinette's head harmed because of Plagg.

"I think this has nothing to do with Hawk Moth," Plagg announced gleefully, "I think this has everything to do with the fact you're jealous."

" _Jealous_?!" Adrien repeated sceptically. "Of what?"

"Well," Plagg said airily, "unlike _you,_ the Princess actually treated me like a _King_. Oh if you were even permitted a drop of that cheesy gloriousness that I call heaven in a cup!" Adrien rolled his eyes. He was beginning to suspect that Plagg's motivation to talking to Marinette had less to do with getting to school and more to do with getting _fed_! "Then there was ear scratches and the under the chin scratches and the general petting. I was completely pampered on the comfiest cushion in all of Paris when she then made a very amusing show of taking of her clothes. Did you know – _urk_?!"

Adrien's hands tightened on Plagg instinctively as his jaw locked down tightly.

" _Adrien_!" Plagg wheezed out. " _I_ ….. _can't_ … _breathe_!"

" _Good_!" Adrien hissed out viciously.

He would have happily throttled Plagg for the rest of the day. He couldn't believe the perverted cat had taken advantage of Marinette's naïve innocence like _that_! Not to mention the fact he was still oh so cavalier and uncaring about all the hurt and worry he put Adrien through.

Adrien was thoroughly pissed off.

Fortunately for Plagg though Adrien's absence had been noticed and Nino came in looking for him. "Adrien?" he called out. "Are you in here, dude?"

"Yeah!" Adrien called back. "Just a minute!" he then turned to Plagg. " _You behave_!" he ordered before he shoved his mischievous nightmare of a Kwami into his school bag. He made a show of flushing the toilet before he stumbled out of the cubicle to the sinks.

"You all right, dude?" Nino asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Adrien mumbled, "just…..stomach problems."

He had to punch his school bag as Plagg started to snigger loudly at that one.

Why did Adrien miss him before?

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Marinette had hoped to see Plagg again one day but she hadn't expected to see him so soon after the last time.

She had thought – and hoped – the next time they saw each other it would be after Hawk Moth was defeated and she and Chat Noir finally revealed themselves to one another. (If she can get the courage that is. She still kept bottling out in her imaginings of the scenario, terrified he would be disappointed with her.) She never once thought she would see Plagg literally two days after she returned him.

It was lunchtime and just as she got up she felt her little pink bag wiggle against her hip before it reached out and punched her side. Tiki wasn't the type to be perfectly still for hours on end but she wasn't the type to move that violently and constantly either. _Something had to be wrong_! Fearful that Tiki was sick again Marinette darted into the nearest empty classroom and ripped open her bag to reveal Tiki and Plagg shoving one another.

" _Plagg_?!" she yelped.

"Princess!" Plagg grinned gleefully. "Long time no see."

"What are you doing here?!" Marinette cried out. "You and Chat didn't have _another_ fight, did you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nah, nothing like that," Plagg said lazily, "though he did try to strangle me a few times."

"I don't believe that for a second!" Marinette scoffed sceptically. "Chat Noir is far too honourable and heroic and sweet to do a thing like _that_!"

"Oh I don't know," Tiki muttered darkly from inside Marinette's bag, "Plagg could test the patience of a saint if he wanted to."

"What do you mean _could_?!" Plagg demanded indignantly. "I _**have**_ tested the patience of a saint! And let me tell you for a saint, Joan sure wasn't very patient. And my Kid is anything but a saint," Plagg added, "he's a teenage boy after all."

Marinette decided she wasn't touching that subject with a teen foot pole. In her experience teenage boys – barring Adrien, and very possibly Chat Noir though Plagg was certainly alluding otherwise – were disgustingly minded creatures and God knows what Plagg was implying there but she definitely didn't want to know.

Instead she returned to the matter at hand. "That still doesn't explain why you're _here_ , with me, and not with Chat," she reminded him.

"Ah, well," Plagg shrugged, "I was just so _bored_!" he moaned childishly. "Your teachers are all so _boring_ with their droning voices and silly, wrong, facts. I thought I would give Tiki a visit and catch up."

"And _I_ ," Tiki said primly (still in the bag), "kept trying to send him back."

" _Spoilsport_ ," Plagg muttered, "I would have gone back before lunch," he said much louder, "but then I remembered you promised me you'll always have a cheese Danish for me."

"I did promise that," Marinette agreed ruefully as she picked up and then rummaged through her backpack. "I'm afraid it's not in the best state," she said apologetically as she pulled out the paper bag from her parents' bakery, "but it should still taste the same."

" _Such an angel_!" Plagg breathed out before he rudely snatched the bag from Marinette's hands and shredded the paper bag to reveal the crumbly, slightly wonky, cheese Danish. " _Mmmmmmmmmm_ ….." Plagg moaned out as he bite into it. "This is heaven!" he said, his mouth full.

"I have cookies," Marinette said tantalisingly to Tiki, "won't you come out and join us?"

"I'm fine in here," Tiki said a tad huffily, "unlike Plagg, I am not willing to risk exposing ourselves."

"Always a stick in a mud," Plagg rolled his eyes before he took another bite, "oh _yum_!" he groaned delightedly. He remained vocal between every bite until the very last crumb was licked off of his paw. "We should do this again," he declared, "I could happily spend the rest of my life living off of these."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Marinette said, amused, "but I don't think it's wise to do this often. Tiki is right, we could accidentally expose ourselves."

"Are you saying," Plagg demanded indignantly, "that you don't want to see me anymore?!"

" _What?_!" Marinette spluttered. " _No_! That's not what I'm saying!"

" _Good_ ," Plagg said with great satisfaction, "then I can see you tomorrow then."

Marinette spluttered some more at that as she realised she had just been tricked by the greatest manipulative creature on the planet. " _No you can't_!" she half shrieked. "It could be dangerous!"

"But _Marinette_!" Plagg whined as he widened his eyes with great deceptive innocence. "I _missed_ you!"

Marinette tried to remain strong in face of the greatest, most adorable, kitty eyes she had ever seen. "I missed you too," she admitted grudgingly, "but that doesn't mean-"

"And you said that you want to see me, right?"

"Y-y-yes," Marinette stammered, "but-"

"So why can't we have lunch together tomorrow?" Plagg asked. "You'll bring me another cheese Danish regardless, right? Just in case."

Marinette gave up at this point. Plagg's eyes were just the widest, sweetest, things and they had beaten Manon's kitty eyes hands down (and Lord knows she could never resist those either!). She was fighting a losing battle. "Yes," she sighed, "we can have lunch together tomorrow."

Plagg beamed radiantly at that. "And you could bring a camembert tart as well?!" he asked eagerly.

"Don't push your luck!" she snapped. "But maybe another day, if you're good," she added when Plagg sent her another pleading gaze that melted her heart into a useless puddle.

 _He was just too adorable for his own good!_

"I'll be on my best behaviour," Plagg said solemnly, " _paw-_ mise!"

" _Ack_!" Plagg sniggered and Marinette could have sworn she heard Tiki giggle from her bag at this. "You best stick with me for the rest of Lunch," Marinette said, "and then sneak back to Chat the same way you snuck into my bag. How did you sneak into my bag in the first place?"

"Ah, Princess," Plagg said melodramatically, "I could tell you but then I would have to kill you."

Marinette giggled at that as she reached out and scratched beneath Plagg's chin. The cat Kwami closed his eyes and purred contentedly at her touch. The rest of her lunch hour is spent alternating between petting Plagg and actually eating her lunch.

Well, there were worst ways to spend a lunch hour.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

When Adrien opened his school bag to find that Plagg was missing again he felt liked he had been punched in the gut.

Repeatedly.

His insides twisted up with a sickening fear that Plagg had grown so thoroughly fed up with Adrien's bad mood that he truly gone and left him this time. The last couple days hadn't been good his own insecurities coupled with his anger for being abandoned, for being teased, for Plagg using Marinette, and some strange possessive, dark, feeling that rose up whenever Plagg brought up how soft Marinette's touch was in his usual smug, irritating manner, meant that Adrien hadn't been the nicest person to live with.

 _He_ was fed up with living with himself, never mind Plagg!

Horrified and petrified that this was it, that Plagg had enough and had packed his cheese for good, Adrien was suddenly spurred into action as he rushed through the corridors. If he was fast enough, if he as quick enough, if he was persuasive enough, and grovelled enough, then maybe, _just maybe_ , Adrien will catch Plagg in time and get him to come home with him.

Adrien scanned every inch of the school corridors as he ducked into every nook and cranny and peered into every room.

Then he saw them.

Plagg was hovering in mid-air right there in the middle of the classroom for everyone to see while Marinette perched carefully on the edge of a desk as she petted him under the chin. It was an endearingly sweet sight to witness.

It was also a sickeningly horrible one.

Plagg wasn't the most affectionate person around and usually that was all right with Adrien. Adrien was rarely around affectionate people. His father was never there, Nathalie liked to keep to herself, and the Gorilla….well Adrien really wouldn't want a hug from the Gorilla. He might be crushed to death. When the other hand had the extreme of Chloe smothering him to death with her embraces and attempts of kissing, Adrien was more than happy with just the odd shoulder nuzzle from Plagg.

But he had always, deep down, wanted a little more.

He craved a little more love in the world. Not just from Plagg, but from his father, and from his Lady, and from Marinette….

And the fact that Plagg was happily allowing Marinette – _who he had known only for a few days!_ – pet him as if he was a real cat while Adrien, who he had lived with for _months_ , hadn't even been asked, really grated on Adrien's nerves as it twisted up his insides even more.

Plagg blatantly liked Marinette more than him. He was more open and affectionate with her than he ever had been with Adrien.

Which begged the question….did Plagg come back to be with Adrien for good?

Or did he only come back so he could get back the Miraculous to give to Marinette?


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette and Plagg were having lunch together, again.

They had done so for every day at school for the last two weeks since the first time. And Plagg had to say it was totally worth making the effort to sneak out of Adrien's schoolbag and into Marinette's handbag every morning. It was also worth putting up with Tiki's scowls and lectures on how irresponsible and careless he was.

After all those Danishes were worth enduring _torture_ for.

As were the cheesy buns, Marinette had brought in on their third lunch together, and the brie and cranberry pastry (though he could have lived without the cranberries), and the cheese and onion roll, and the cheese straws, and…

Well you get the picture, Plagg had been living in cheese heaven for the last two weeks and he had no plans of giving it up.

Even if his Kid was behaving like one of those ridiculous, over the top, Byronic, brooding heroes lately.

It had gotten so bad that even _Marinette_ had noticed something was wrong and that was saying something. Because as much as he adored his Princess of Cheesy Goods, the girl was terribly oblivious as Adrien was, and the fact either of them noticed something was amiss was usually nothing short of a _miracle_.

"Is there something up with Chat Noir?" Marinette asked nervously as they feasted on her parents baked goods once again. "He wasn't quite himself during the Akuma attack yesterday. He wasn't as….punny as usual, or _you know_ ," she mumbled shyly as her cheeks turned pink.

Plagg rolled his eyes in disgust at that. "You can say the word _flirty_ you know," he said impatiently, "you're not going to suddenly _spontaneously combust_ if you do. He's a giant flirt when it comes to you. I know it, you know it, Tiki knows it, your nosey friend knows it, hell, _all of Paris_ knows it!"

" _Meep_!" Marinette squeaked.

Plagg sighed and cursed the fact that he and Tiki were stuck with lovesick teenagers, _again_. "I don't know what to tell you, Princess," he said instead, "the Kid has been weirdly sulky for the last two weeks. I would blame the lack of cheese in his diet but he had been suffering that tragedy before and had been annoyingly cheerful. The only conclusion I can think of is that he's jealous."

"Jealous?" Marinette frowned. "Jealous about what?"

"Well," Plagg smirked, "he hadn't been all that pleased when I told him I saw you undress a couple-"

"WHAT?!" Marinette shrieked furiously as her cheeks went from dusty pink to fire-engine red within seconds. Her blue eyes blazed with barely suppressed anger as she scowled down fiercely at Plagg. " _Why the hell would you tell him that_?!" she hissed.

"Well," Plagg said unbothered (he has had centuries of experience of dealing with Tiki's temper and other various, almost terrifying, tempers. Marinette's was nothing in comparison), "to wind him up, of course!"

"Y-y-y- _you_!" Marinette spluttered crossly. "Are _**unbelievable**_!" she managed to choke out.

"I know," Plagg preened, "I can't believe something as amazing as me could exist either."

Marinette shook her head disbelievingly as an unflattering, loud, derisive snort could be heard from her handbag.

Plagg pointedly chose to ignore Tiki.

After all, if she wasn't going to come out and actually be sociable, then why should Plagg acknowledge her presence?

"I...I…I d-d-don't think that's the problem," Marinette stuttered suddenly, "why would Chat be upset about you seeing me…. _you know_?!"

Plagg rolled his eyes. Honestly! These kids were going to be the death of him. " _Because_ ," he drawled out, "the Kid is sweet on you. _Duh_!"

He was pretty sure if Marinette kept blushing any more than she already had she would begin to turn purple. It was rather fascinating to watch. "He doesn't like me like that," she mumbled as her eyes suddenly fixated on her shoes, "he's just playing around."

"Oh _please!_ " Plagg said disgusted. "I know my Kid better than you do right now and trust me when I say this. He's sickeningly into you. If he isn't gushing lovey-dovey poetry about Ladybug then he's whinging because Marinette never seems to want to speak to him."

Marinette's head suddenly shot up as a startled expression entered her big blue eyes. "Wait!" she gasped. "We _know_ each other outside the masks?!"

" _Plagg_!" Tiki shrieked.

"You only want to know," Plagg said smoothly, "because you're sweet on my Kid too."

Marinette actually did start to turn purple as she blushed so hard that Plagg could probably warm himself on the glow of her face for weeks. "I-I-I-I am not!" she spluttered.

" _Chat Noir is far too honourable and heroic and sweet_ ," Plagg quoted in a mockingly squeaky voice, "if you're not sweet on him then I'm a dog Kwami."

"That's neither here nor there!" Marinette evaded. Her blush had gotten so bad that Plagg was now persuaded her head was going to explode any second now. Which isn't a good thing because the Kid would be insufferable if Plagg managed to kill his Lady Love via embarrassment. "What matters is there's _something_ upsetting Chat and _you_ need to sort it out!"

"Why _me_?!" Plagg whined.

"Because you're his Kwami!" Marinette replied sternly. "You're supposed to guide him during an emotional crisis like this."

" _Urgh_!" Plagg groaned, revolted. This was _Tiki's_ fault! Tiki always held her chosen one's hands and comforted their little hurt feelings and now he was expected to do the same for his. It was so much _hard work_! "Can't I just pat him on the shoulder instead?" he asked pleadingly.

" _Talk to him_!" Marinette commanded. "Talk to him tonight and I may just bring that camembert tart in tomorrow."

"Princess!" Plagg cried out in a mocking scandalised tone. "Are you trying to _bribe_ me?!"

"I like to think of it as offering a very persuasive incentive to do my bidding," Marinette smirked, "talk to Chat and get a creamy, heavenly, camembert tart in return."

"You _are_ bribing me!" Plagg exclaimed gleefully. "Oh I am _so_ proud of you! I was obviously given to the wrong person. You would have made a fantastic Chat Noir."

Tiki's irritated huff at that made the moment all the more sweet.

Heh.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrien was at a lost at what to do.

It had been two weeks since Plagg had run off, spent the night with Marinette, and come back only to keep sneaking away to visit Marinette. Two, long, painfully drawn out weeks as Adrien kept expecting the look down and find his ring missing or Plagg to finally announce he had enough or Marinette to suddenly approach him and demand Plagg to be handed over.

Adrien kept visualising each and every horrible scenario over and over again.

In some of them Ladybug even makes an appearance and tells him she would much prefer someone else to be his partner and could he please hand over Plagg to someone much more suitable.

It was rather nerve wrecking.

It doesn't help that Plagg vanishes _every morning_!

Oh, sure, he was back before school ended but it didn't change the fact that Adrien's chest kept seizing up at the sight of his Kwami-free school bag. Adrien was currently spending every lunch hour in a state of sheer paralysis as he wondered whether or not this was going to be the time Plagg leaves for good.

Which makes him incredibly piss poor company for Nino or Chloe. Both of which have complained bitterly about his lack of attention and his gloomy presence.

He was probably going to lose them both too.

It didn't help, either, that Plagg was acting like _nothing_ was happening. He was his usual lazy, snarky, charming self. He whined when they had to go somewhere, he complained when an Akuma attacked, he waxed poetry for cheese, and he teased Adrien to no end about Marinette.

As if he wasn't the one obsessed with the sweet baker's girl instead of Adrien.

Unable to bring himself to actually ask and demand answers and unwilling to do anything to actually provoke Plagg into leaving again, Adrien spent most of his evenings in silence and dread.

Then, after finding his school bag empty what felt like the hundredth time, Adrien finally snapped.

He just wasn't going to take it anymore!

He had to put his foot down!

Secret identity be _damned!_ Plagg couldn't just keep abandoning him for pretty smiles and delicious baked goods. An Akuma could attack _any minute_! What would happen if an Akuma successfully swiped Ladybug's earrings because he hadn't shown up on time thanks to Plagg gallivanting about?!

Adrien had planned to march into the abandoned classroom Plagg and Marinette were hiding in and confront them both on this.

He had even got as far as reaching out for the doorknob when he heard it.

"…talk to Chat," Marinette said in her best non-nonsense, _I am the Class President_ , voice, "and get a creamy, heavenly, camembert tart in return."

"You _are_ bribing me!" Plagg exclaimed gleefully. "Oh I am _so_ proud of you! I was obviously given to the wrong person. You would have made a fantastic Chat Noir."

The last time Adrien had caught them together it felt like he had been punched in the gut. Now it felt like was he being stabbed repeatedly in the back with a burning knife of sheer despair.

 _Plagg was going to leave him!_

He thought Marinette would have made a better Chat Noir than he did and, honestly, how could Adrien blame him? Marinette always stood for justice and fought for what was right. She was talented, and creative, and really smart. And sure, Adrien couldn't get a coherent sentence out of her, but he's heard her be witty and amusing around other people.

She charmed _Plagg,_ of all people!

She would make a fantastic Chat Noir.

Adrien sighed heavily as he felt himself slump over in despair. He couldn't argue with this, he couldn't fight it, all he could do was hope that Plagg would have the decency to actually say goodbye first.

The afternoon flew by as Adrien felt rather numb to the whole world. He thinks people spoke to him and he spoke back but he couldn't honestly be certain. All he knows for sure that he managed to get home in one piece and was in the safety of his room before Plagg poked his head out and zipped straight towards his cheese stash.

After what was probably three wheels of cheese Plagg suddenly appeared right in front of Adrien's face. "All right, Kid, _spill it_!" he demanded. "What's your problem?"

" _My_ problem?!" Adrien repeated disbelievingly. "I don't have a problem!"

The snarky look Plagg gave him made his father's cool gaze look like a pair of puppy eyes in comparison. It was simultaneously chilling and irritating. "Pull the other one, Kid," he drawled out sarcastically, "it has bells on it."

"I _don't_!" Adrien insisted.

"Uhuh," Plagg said sceptically, "which is why you're sulking by the windows instead of chatting my ear off about the wonders of Ladybug or why Marinette won't speak to you or-"

It was the mention of Marinette that made Adrien snap. His mind instantly flashed to that overheard conversation from lunchtime, _you would have made a fantastic Chat Noir_ his mind repeated insidiously, and he was unable to keep his feelings to himself anymore. He had enough of that to last him a lifetime. "I'm not the one with the problem!" he barked irritably. " _You_ are!"

" _Pfft!_ " Plagg snorted. "I'm in a nice warm place with cheese in my belly. Why would _I_ be the one with the problem, Kid?" he asked sneeringly. "I'm not as high-strung as you are."

"Is that it?" Adrien asked miserably. "I'm too high-strung for you, is that why you're going to leave me?"

Plagg blinked bewilderedly at that. "Eh?" he said unintelligently.

"You're going to leave me," Adrien repeated quietly but firmly, "you're going to replace me with Marinette."

" _Oh for the love of-!"_ Plagg cut himself off and shook his head. "Kid," he said with uncharacteristically gentleness, "look at me," Adrien refused as he kept his eyes solely down on the carpet. He thinks if he looked at Plagg he might actually cry and beg like some teenage girl from a young adult supernatural book as she pleaded her super-powered boyfriend to not dump her for her safety. _Urgh!_ "I said _look at me_!" Plagg repeated.

Unwillingly, Adrien did so and emerald green met neon green. "I am **not** leaving you," Plagg said imperiously, "got that, Kid? I'm stuck to you like that bad smell on your feet. You're not getting rid of me anytime soon."

"But Plagg," Adrien whispered, "you already _have_ left me!"

There is a moment of silence as realisation took it's time to truly sink into Plagg. "Ah shit," Plagg muttered softly to himself. "Come on, Kid," he said loudly, "you can't take whatever I say or do in a huff seriously. Besides, I came back didn't I?"

"Yeah," Adrien mumbled, "but only to get the Miraculous Ring back. Not to stay."

"Oh really?" Plagg drawled out. "And exactly who I am supposed to be giving your ring to? Because let me tell you something Kid there aren't many I would deign to look at let alone actually-"

"Marinette," Adrien interrupted, "you're going to replace me with _Marinette_."

Plagg actually burst out laughing at that.

He virtually howled with laughter as he rocked back and forth mid-air and tears of mirth suddenly streamed down his cheeks.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Adrien exploded. His cheeks burned with embarrassment and fury at having his fears and suspicions laughed at like they were the biggest joke ever told. " _I heard you_!" he accused. "I heard you tell her you were given to the _wrong person_!" the insult to him, still stung bitterly. "That she would make a fantastic Chat Noir!"

"Jeeze Kid," Plagg choked out between snickers, "haven't you heard of a compliment? I didn't mean it _literally_." He wiped away some of his mirthful tears from his eyes and gave Adrien the biggest, most wicked, smirk ever known to man. "Ah Kid," he wheezed, "if only you knew what I knew you would find this fricking hilarious too!"

He then promptly doubled over into more hysterical laughter.

"Well she can't have you!" Adrien decided. His determination seemed to only amuse Plagg even more which did nothing to sooth Adrien's irritation or anger. "I'm not giving you up without a fight!"

Plagg sniggered some more as he clutched his sides.

Adrien gritted his teeth. "I'm being _serious_!" he snapped. "I _won't_! I'm going over there right now and I'm going to tell her to back off! No more secret lunches behind my back!"

That seemed to shut Plagg up as he suddenly jerked up and stared at Adrien with wide eyes of shock and horror. "Wait, _what?_!" he yelped.

"Plagg!" Adrien commanded as he held up his Miraculous. " _Transform Me_!"

"Wait, Kid!" Plagg said frantically. "I don't think that's a goooooooooooooooooo-"

Plagg's last words were lost entirely as he was dragged into the ring and the transformation process started. Soon enough Chat Noir stood in Adrien's place. With a grim look firmly set on his face he set out into the night to fight for what was his.

If he was in a better mood he would have definitely made a pun about a cat fight right here.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Marinette carefully wrapped the camembert tart up in bubble wrap so it wouldn't crumble when it was knocked about in her schoolbag. Plagg had been easy-going before about the state of the baked goods she had presented him with in the past but she had a strong, niggling, suspicion that he wouldn't be as casual with _camembert_.

It was his favourite after all.

So she was determined to present him with the perfect tart both taste and presentation wise.

"I wish you wouldn't encourage Plagg," Tiki sighed, "it's only going to lead to trouble."

"I don't see how having lunch together would cause any," Marinette replied calmly as she placed the wrapped up tart into a tin. "It's not like we go anywhere where we could cause any trouble."

"You don't _have to go_ anywhere!" Tiki said primly. "Sometimes all Plagg has to do is sneeze and chaos and destruction follows."

"You're being ridiculous!" Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Am I?"

" _Yes_!" Marinette cried out. "It's just lunch between friends! There is no way any tr-"

 _Knock, knock!_

Marinette froze as her eyes slowly turned towards her trapdoor that led to her balcony. In other words the place where someone shouldn't be knocking!

 _Knock, knock!_

"See!" Tiki said smugly as floated away to hide. " _ **Trouble**_!"

 _Knock, knock!_

"This doesn't mean _anything!_ " Marinette exclaimed. "There's probably a perfectly good reason why someone is knocking on my door and it has nothing to do with Plagg."

 _Knock, knock!_

"I'm coming!" Marinette yelled. She then scrambled towards the trapdoor where in her haste she struggled to get it unlatched but eventually after much fumbling around she finally managed to yank it open. " _Chat Noir_?!" she cried out.

Chat Noir didn't look at all like his usual bubbly self. There was no self-assured grin on his face, no bouncing on the balls of his feet, no glimmer of amusement or mischief in his eyes. Instead his lips were set in a grim line while his eyes were chillingly empty.

For one fearful moment she thought that there had been an Akuma attack and Chat Noir got brainwashed again.

"Could I please come in?" he asked politely.

Immediately Marinette's fear evaporated. Chat wouldn't still be a gentleman if he was brainwashed and therefore he was unlikely to attack her or interrogate her for the whereabouts of Ladybug. It didn't explain _**why**_ he was here though. Marinette nodded dumbly before she stepped away so Chat could jump in. there is a moment of awkward silence as he stared at her flatly and she blinked back bewilderedly. She was just on the verge of asking if he wanted a cup of tea or something when he suddenly jumped right in.

"I want you to stay away from Plagg!" he blurted out.

" _Excuse me_?!"

"You heard me!" Chat snapped furiously. "I want you to stay away from my Kwami! He's _mine_! I was the one chosen not you, so _back off_!"

"Plagg is allowed to have friends!" Marinette spat out disgustedly. "You might be working with him but you don't _own_ him. He's his own cat and he can do what he likes!"

"Don't play innocent with me, _Princess_!" Chat snarled. "I heard you both earlier today. Plagg said you would make a fantastic Chat Noir!"

"It was a _complimen_ t!" Marinette protested. Her cheeks heated up, partially out of flattered embarrassment that Plagg thought so highly of her, partially out of anger because Chat Noir was suddenly being incredibly unreasonable, and little bit because she had a strong suspicion she had been the cause to Chat's broodiness these last couple weeks. "He didn't mean it like _that!_ He was just being nice!"

"Plagg is _never_ nice!" Chat cried out. "You're obviously seducing him with your pretty smiles and big blue eyes and sinfully delicious baked goods!"

"W-w-w- _what?_!" Marinette squeaked and stammered simultaneously. Chat Noir thought she had pretty smiles and nice eyes? He actually thought she was _seductive_?! She flushed even more, a tiny bit flattered, but mostly flabbergasted. And a little bit offended, it didn't help that Chat made it sound like she was some homewrecker from a soap opera. "S-s-s- _seducing him_?!"

Chat Noir crossed his arms defiantly. "You heard me," he said coolly, "I am not repeating myself."

" _I am not seducing your Kwami_!" Marinette's voice came out as a strangled shriek. "I wouldn't _want_ to! I wouldn't want to be Chat Noir!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Chat scoffed. "Who wouldn't want to be a superhero?"

"I _don't!_ " Marinette cried out truthfully.

She may have accepted being Ladybug, even found it fun at times and relished the freedom yo-yoing through the streets have given her, but she never _wanted_ to be Ladybug and she still didn't really want it either.

There was no way in hell she would be able to do this as Chat Noir (no matter how endearing and adorable Plagg was). The additional bad luck that comes from that Miraculous would probably kill her.

"I don't believe you!" Chat declared childishly. "Why else would you keep having secret meetings over cheesy goods?"

"It's just _lunch!_ " Marinette snapped irritably. "We talk, he teases me, we eat, sometimes all he does is EAT but we don't do anything else. There's no sordid plans for him to run off with me. We're just _friends!_ "

"He lets you pet him," Chat said sadly, "and he thinks the world of you. You're all he talks about nowadays."

Marinette could feel a headache coming on.

She knew there was something bothering Chat and it had to be more than Plagg just teasing him about her. She never thought her Kitty could be so insecure. Sure he was a little needy in the affection department but she always sort of thought that was part of his confident, silly, cat act for when he was being super flirty. He had occasionally stuttered when she caught him off guard but on the whole he was so smooth, so calm, so strong, and so confident it never occurred to her he might just being putting on an act like she was.

"Just friends," she repeated firmly and reassuringly, "I have no plans of taking your place."

"All right," Chat said disbelievingly. His gorgeous green eyes were narrowed in suspicion and his posture hadn't relaxed a single bit. "And if Plagg decided he wanted to live with you instead?"

"I wouldn't take him," Marinette replied instantly.

"Why _not?!"_

Was he actually now offended that she _didn't_ want his Kwami?! _Jesus!_ She couldn't win, could she? "Because," Marinette gritted her teeth as she felt her headache thrum painfully against her forehead, "I don't want to be Chat Noir!"

"And I said _I don't believe you_!" Chat argued. "Give me a real reason."

"That _is_ the real reason!"

"Like hell it is!"

" _It is_!" Marinette insisted. "I don't want to be Chat Noir!"

"Why," Chat persisted, "not?"

"I already have too much on my plate," Marinette said, "I struggle as it is with my babysitting duties, my friends, my class president duties, my homework, and helping my parents out. I would never fit being a superhero between all of that."

"Yeah right," Chat scoffed, "I have a far busier schedule than you, Princess, and I 'm capable of handling my superhero duties."

"Well," Marinette said hurriedly, "I don't want to endanger anyone I-"

" _Nope_!"

Marinette puffed out her cheeks irritably as she tried to keep her temper in check. _He's paranoid, upset, and irrational_ , she reminded herself, _he doesn't mean to be a pain in the backside!_ "I wouldn't want to be Chat Noir," she said lamely, "because I wouldn't be suited to the task."

"Are you _kidding m_ e?!" Chat cried out. "You are the fairest, kindest, bravest, and most just person I know. I don't know anyone who would be more suited to being a superhero." Marinette blushed brightly and deeply at the compliments she totally didn't deserve right now. "And on top of that you and Plagg get on so well," Chat added irritably, "you feed him better than I do. You and Ladybug would make a better team, you're so alike, so why wouldn't you?" Marinette opened her mouth to say something but Chat cut her off. "No made up excuses!" he snapped. "Why? Why? Why? Why? W-"

"BECAUSE," Marinette bellowed as she stomped her foot on the ground. Her patience and temper was now firmly lost. "I ALREADY HAVE A KWAMI OF MY OWN, WHY THE HELL WOULD I WANT _**YOURS**_?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thank you all so much for the reviews, favourites, and follows. I'm glad that you have enjoyed this fic so much and I hope you continue to enjoy this final chapter.

As soon as those last few words left Marinette's lips there is suddenly a horribly heavy and prolonged silence between them. It dragged out for an excruciatingly long time as they stared at one another and then just as sudden as it had descended upon them, Marinette gasped loudly and slapped her hands over her mouth

That is when it really hits Adrien what exactly Marinette had said.

 _Because I already have a Kwami of my own, why the hell would I want_ _ **yours?**_ _!_

 _I already have a_ _ **Kwami**_ _of my own._

 _A Kwami of_ _ **my own**_ _._

The words echoed over and over again in Adrien's ears as it truly began to sink in what that meant.

She had a Kwami.

 _Marinette had a Kwami_!

There were only two people other than Adrien (that he knew of) that had their own Kwami and that was Ladybug and Hawk Moth. So either Marinette was one of the many in a secret society that Adrien didn't know existed or….or….or…

Before his mind could grasp hold of a solution or actual answer there is a deep, heavy, sigh and slowly a beautiful red creature with black spots and big, deep, blue eyes – a few shades darker than Marinette's own – floated down towards him.

He gaped at it gormlessly unable to comprehend what he was actually seeing.

The Kwami stopped right before his face and gave him a sympathetic, sweet, smile that made him feel strangely warm and fuzzy and safe. "Hello Chat Noir," the Kwami said softly, "my name is Tiki and I help Marinette become Ladybug."

Adrien's jaw dropped open unattractively at that. He hastily snapped it shut and opened his mouth again to say something only for nothing to come out. He tried again over and over again making the most embarrassing fish faces.

He honestly didn't know what to make of this.

A part of him was still hurt, and scared, and angry, and upset. Mostly at Plagg for leaving in the first place and starting this whole mess, a little with Marinette for being so _bloody perfect_ and lovable that Plagg would prefer her, and a lot with his father and even a little bit with his mother who are both the root of his problems. Another part of him was quite honestly dancing with glee and happiness that he could finally gaze into the unmasked face of the girl he loved. He was also greatly relieved for many reasons (that involved romantic feelings he didn't know he had until this point and was a whole other mountain of emotions that made his head spin) but mainly because this meant Marinette was definitely not going to steal Plagg away.

But the emotion that drowned it all out the most was simply sheer _embarrassment!_

He had just made a complete prat of himself in front of his Lady!

Oh he could _**die**_ right now!

"I...you…Lady…?" he stammered incoherently. " _What_?!" he squeaked.

Tiki giggled at that.

"It's nice to meet you too," she replied, "I'm sorry for all the trouble Plagg caused," she added, "he's a nuisance like that."

Adrien would have said something in reply to that as soon as he finally had an actual coherent thought but before that could happen he felt his transformation wear off. The greenish light almost blinded him before Plagg suddenly zoomed up to Tiki.

" _Excuse me_?!" he cried out indignantly. "I am a _what_ now?!"

Tiki opened her mouth but before she could say anything she was immediately cut off by-

" **EEK**!"

That was, of course, when Adrien realised that he had just _de-transformed_ in front of Marinette!

Marinette blushed so deeply and brightly that she rivalled the scarlet of her superhero suit. Her blue eyes were wide and fixed on his face in shock and her hands had dropped to reveal that her mouth, like his earlier, was wordlessly opening and closing.

"Erm," Adrien rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I'm sorry for accusing you of trying to steal my Kwami away."

"D-d-d-d-don't be!" Marinette stammered. "I-I-I pr-pr-probably would have done the same if I thought someone was going to take Tiki away from me."

There was another painfully awkward silence as Adrien and Marinette could barely meet each other's eyes before they ducked away and blushed.

" _Honestly_!" Tiki huffed irritably. "I can't believe you Plagg! Just dropping your transformation like that. Wayzz and I have told you enough times that the identity reveal is a-"

" _A part of the spiritual journey of growth of our Miraculous Holders_ , I know, I know," Plagg rolled his eyes, "and it _was_! Adrien has grown lots these last couple weeks. He now knows that he doesn't have to repress his negative feelings and its okay to have them. Good work, Kid."

Adrien spluttered indignantly at that. "Good work?!" he repeated incredulously. " _Good work_?! I just spent two whole weeks thinking you were going to leave me again!"

"I know," Plagg rolled his eyes again, "God knows why."

"Because all of you have done these last two weeks was talk about how amazing Marinette was!" Adrien cried out. "And you let her pet you and…and…and…"

"Ah Kid," Plagg said fondly, "I was only talking about Marinette so much because I was trying to make you jealous. You know, get you all worked up over your precious Princess and maybe nudge you in the right direction." Adrien suddenly felt very hot under the collar at that while Marinette squeaked in embarrassment and was hastily returning to her bright red, flustered, state. "Never thought you would get jealous over _me_ though," Plagg frowned slightly at that but then shrugged it off, "but what can I say? I'm _paw_ -stively gorgeous! If I was full-sized I would be a sexy beast."

"You would have a bigger head that's for sure," Tiki said flatly as Adrien spluttered indignantly at Plagg's casual dismissal of his feelings while totally boosting his own ego. "Don't pay Plagg any attention," Tiki said reassuringly to Adrien, "he's just history's biggest wind-up merchant."

"It's not my fault these humans are so easy to tease!" Plagg protested. "And face it, Kid, you're _very easy_ to tease."

"I'm so glad to provide you with your entertainment," Adrien replied dryly. "Never mind that I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown just as long as you were having fun."

"I knew you would understand," Plagg nodded sagely causing not only Adrien but Tiki and Marinette to splutter in disbelief at that one. "Now, do you finally get that I'm not going abandon you anytime?"

Adrien squirmed at that. His first instinct was to agree and get this situation over and done with. To continue with the charade that he was perfectly all right with everything and content with the state of the world. But Plagg had just commended Adrien for finally learning to _**not**_ bottle everything up and Adrien really wanted to prove Plagg right and make him proud of him again.

So he said the truth instead.

"The fact that Marinette is Ladybug doesn't change the fact that you like her more than me," he mumbled, "you might want to swap with Tiki."

"You probably want to swap me for Tiki," Plagg argued, "she's the Kwami that likes to coddle her charges and suffocate them with affection. That's not my style."

"But you let Marinette _pet_ you," Adrien pointed out.

"Well she's prettier than you for a start," Plagg teased which earned him glares from all corners of the room (" _Plagg_!" Tiki had even added in a low stern voice). He rolled his eyes in reply. "All right, all right," he grumbled, "Marinette just did it and I wasn't going to argue. It felt _great!_ You, however, Kid haven't even asked if you could and in my experience - _thousands of years_ of experience I might add! - most teenage boys don't want to cuddle the cute magical creature. I'm not one to beg."

"I have seen you beg for cheese!"

"Cheese is different!" Plagg cried out melodramatically. "It's the true heaven on Earth!"

"Trust you to only think with your stomach, Plagg," Tiki rolled her eyes.

"Oh I don't know, Tiki," Marinette said lightly, "I think I heard you say the same thing about cookies before."

" _Marinette_!"

Adrien was momentarily distracted by the twinkling sound that was Marinette's giggle. He watched how her face lit up completely with a radiant smile that caused his heart to flutter and his palms to sweat and he wondered how he could be so blind to the way she made him feel without the mask on before this.

Then he remembered what Plagg said and his priorities shifted back to the matter at hand.

"So…." He said hesitatingly and shyly, "….I'm okay to pet you?"

"Eh," Plagg shrugged, "knock yourself out."

Adrien slowly reached out before he gave Plagg one, long, soothing stroke on the top of his head. Plagg's black fur felt like silk beneath Adrien's fingers. So very soft and comforting to touch. Adrien eagerly repeated the motion and soon settled into petting Plagg as the tiny black cat closed his eyes and purred deeply in reply.

Tiki had been playfully chiding Marinette (who was still giggly and sweet in reply) but they both fell silent and watched Adrien and Plagg. The sudden silence and the feel of two matching, big, blue eyes on him suddenly made Adrien feel very self-conscious and he hastily yanked his hand away from Plagg.

Plagg opened his eyes and smirked. "Better now?" he asked smugly. Adrien merely nodded in reply unable to form any words from the humiliation of making such a big deal out of nothing. "Good," Plagg said satisfied as he gave a little stretch, "so now that's all sorted and you know who your Lady is we can now live happily ever after and ea-"

"Oh no!" Adrien interrupted. "Just because I'm happy _now_ doesn't mean you don't deserve any punishment for the hell you put me through."

" _Punishmen_ t?!" Plagg yelped indignantly. "Haven't I been punished enough?! I barely left you for three seconds before I was attacked by the Hawk Moth of pigeons. It was obviously out to _eat me_! I lost all my cheese, slammed into a tree, temporarily lost all consciousness, only to be kidnapped by an evil, pink, demon that tried to force feed me cookies and put me on an evil contraption that spun me till I was almost sick, slammed into another tree, and then when I finally make my daring escape I collapse to wake up and find myself surrounded by hundreds of photos of **YOU** staring down at me-"

" **OH MY GOD**!" Marinette shrieked. She then suddenly darted towards the nearest wall of her bedroom and hastily began to tear down posters. " _Don't look_!" she wailed over her shoulder.

But it was too late Adrien's attention was entirely taken back by the realisation he was essentially surrounded by a shrine of himself.

"She's sweet on Chat too," Plagg added slyly in Adrien's ear, "she thinks he's so _heroic_ and _noble_ and _sweet._ "

Adrien grinned as he felt his Chat Noir confidence flicker to life at that. His Princess and Lady liked both sides of him.

He could work with that.

He channelled his best Chat Noir attitude into his walk as he approached Marinette, who was still frantically tearing down the posters, and reached out to grab her wrist. "See," he smirked, "I told you I was a breathless gorgeous model beneath the mask."

" _Mpfl!_ " Marinette squeaked as she flushed bright pink all over again. She tried to speak but choked for a moment as her cheeks burned brighter and brighter but then she took a deep, soothing, breath, and something Ladybug-esque sparkled in her eyes. "Such an arrogant Kitty!" she chided teasingly.

He smirked and then, emboldened by everything with Plagg, he held his arms out towards her. A silent plea for some more affection.

He was a needy kitty as well as an arrogant one.

Marinette didn't even hesitate as she stepped into his arms and wrapped her own round him gently but firmly. She even rested her head on his shoulder and nuzzled against his shirt which caused his heart to do somersaults in his chest from sheer happiness. He soaked in her warmth and scent as he felt his own purr build up in his chest rather embarrassingly so.

Marinette didn't seem to mind though. He could feel her smile through the flimsy material of his shirt against his collarbone.

It felt like an eternity before they finally stepped away from one another and once again an awkward silence fell over them.

"So….I…erm…" Adrien muttered shyly, "I….suppose I should go now?"

"Or," Marinette blushed, "you could stay a little longer. I could make you a cup of tea or….?" She trailed off as her cheeks rivalled her suit once again.

"I would like that," Adrien replied softly.

She beamed at him and he smiled back, feeling utterly giddy, and they stood there just smiling at each other right up till Plagg suddenly picked up a box and shook it.

His neon green eyes lit up in delight. "Is this my camembert tart?" he asked hopefully. "I did earn it. I talked to the Kid and sorted out all of his issues."

"You did _not_!" Adrien retorted irritably. "As soon as I told you what I was feeling you laughed in my face!"

" _What?_!" Marinette and Tiki shrieked in unison. "You _laughed_ at him?!" they asked Plagg, disgustedly.

"He was being ridiculous!" Plagg protested.

"It's not ridiculous for him to feel anxious, Plagg!" Tiki snapped. "You're supposed to _comfort_ and _reassure_ him not _laugh_ at him!"

"Oh come on, Tik," Plagg grinned, "you would have laughed too."

"No I wouldn't have!"

Plagg opened his mouth, most likely to say tha Tiki would have, but Marinette cut him off with a loud, disapproving, sniff. "Well!" she said huffily. "It sounds to me like you didn't earn this camembert tart whatsoever. Adrien, would you like a piece?"

" _What?_!" Plagg yelped. "You're offering it to _him_?!" he pointed at Adrien dramatically. "He doesn't even _like_ camembert!"

"You know," Adrien smiled, "I think this is the _purr_ -fect time to acquire the taste for the cheese. Could you make my slice extra big, Princess?"

"What?!"

"Of course!" Marinette beamed.

" _No!_ " Plagg cried out. "It's _my_ tart not his!"

"Do you know," Tiki piped up, "I suddenly find myself craving a slice of that tart myself."

"What?!"

"Of course, Tiki," Marinette replied sweetly, "I'll go and fetch some plates. Would you all like a drink too?"

" _Ooh!_ " Tiki cooed almost evilly. "A hot chocolate would be lovely to dunk the tart in."

"WHAT?!" Plagg screeched. YOU DON'T DUNK _**CHEESE**_ INTO _**CHOCOLATE**_! WHAT KIND OF SAVAGES ARE YOU?!"

They all ignored him as Marinette went to fetch the hot chocolate and plates.

Adrien then spent the rest of his evening devouring the camembert tart with the help of Marinette and Tiki. Although he never liked the cheese he savoured every bite of that delicious pastry while Plagg melodramatically sobbed in the background.

Never before had Adrien felt happier than he did in that moment and what made it all so much the better was that he knew there were happier times ahead with Plagg and his Princess (and Tiki too!)

Adrien never thought that he would be so thankful that Plagg had left his camembert in his shoes.


End file.
